Judge rules against Bagram detainees

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a new effort by terrorism detainees at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan to challenge their imprisonment in federal court.

U.S. District Judge John Bates had ruled three years ago that detainees at Bagram Airfield should have access to U.S. courts, just as Guantanamo Bay prisoners in Cuba do. But an appeals court overturned him in 2010.

In amended petitions, the detainees cited new evidence in seeking another shot at federal court. Among other things, the detainees said the United States was attempting to avoid jurisdiction in U.S. courts by detaining petitioners at Bagram.

But in a ruling Friday, Bates said none of the new evidence undermines the rationale of the appeals court decision, and dismissed the petitions.